Convertible rail-highway traction vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to railway tractor engines and in particular to means for transferring part of the weight of a towed car onto the wheels of the tractor engine so as to prevent overturning or derailing and to increase the friction between the wheels and the rails. The invention relates in particular to traction engines with knuckle type couplers.

United States Patent [191 Herscovitch 51 Jan.9,1973

[54] CONVERTIBLE RAIL-HIGHWAY TRACTION VEHICLE [76] Inventor: William Howard llerscovitch, Bredenbekstrasse 12, Hamburg-Ohlstedt, Germany [22] Filed: May'6, 1970 [211 App]. No.2 35,220

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 7, 1969 United Kingdom ..23,397/69 [52] US. Cl. ..l05/26 R, 105/75, 105/215 C, 213/50 [51] Int. Cl ..B6lc 13/00, B6lc 15/04, 1361f 9/00 [58] Field of Search ..l05/26, 26.1, 26 R, 73, 75, 105/90 A, 215 C; 213/50 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Day ..l05/26.l

l-lerscovitch ..105/26.1

2,530,756 11/1950 Blomberg ..2l3/50 X 2,722,897 11/1955 Morey ..l05/26.1 X 3,420,191 l/l969 White, Jr. ..105l26 R X 3,633,514 l/l972 Deike .,'105/26 R Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn [57] ABSTRACT The invention relates to railway tractor engines and in particular to means for transferring part of the weight of a towed car onto the wheels of the tractor engine so as to prevent overturning or detailing and to increase the friction between the wheels and the rails. The invention relates in particular to traction engines with knuckle type couplers.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDJAM 9:915 3.709.153

' SHEET 2 UF 6 Arm! 5 PATENTEDJAH ems 3.709153 SHEET 6 OF 6 Maw 21/ CONVERTIBLE RAIL-HIGHWAY TRACTION VEHICLE The invention relates to a coupler and load transfer means for railway traction vehicles.

The need for improved industrial and railway shunting machines capable of hauling large loads, de-railing and re-railing at any desired point and so constructed that any unskilled worker can handle the machine without hazard, has led to various designs and improvements which lead more and more away from the conventional shunting locomotive which is only a reduced scale main-line locomotive.

Where railway rolling stock is equipped with automatic knuckle type couplers, the railcars are usually long wheel-base units with the front and rear axles so placed that there is very little space left between the automatic coupler line and the wheel rim. These dimensional limitations make it inevitable that a shunting unit, in which weight transfer from the railway car to the shunting-unit is utilized for increasing traction, is so designed that the coupler of the shunting unit is set far to the rear that it reaches outside the wheel-base of the shunting unit. This causes serious disadvantages by way of overturning moments on the shunting unit when the weight from the railcar is transferred for purposes of traction. The overturning moment causes the machine to tip upwards and the front wheels or axles to be lifted off the rails when the shunting unit is exerting a pulling force which exceeds the opposite moment created by the weight of the shunting unit. This means that the additional weight transferred from the railcar to the traction unit is only partially useful being favorable only for pushing forces when the front wheels are forced downwards on the rails due to the tractive effort of the machine.

Many attempts have been made to devise a coupler unit which permits a coupling between an automatic coupler of a railcar and a shunting unit to be located far to the rear ofthe shunting unit at any desired point even behind the rear axle, yet transferring the vertical load from the railway car to the most favorable point on the shunting unit, with regard to the stability when pulling and pushing. I

All the coupler units hitherto known'have serious limitations mainly due to the lateral de-railing forces arising when negotiating narrow curves, and crossing points.

According to the invention-there is provided means for transferring part of the weight of a railcar to any desired position on a traction unit so as to increase the traction of the traction unit.

According to the invention furthermore there is provided means for coupling a railcar provided with an automatic knuckle type coupler and transferring part of the weight of the said railcar to a traction unit, which means comprises a jack disposed on the traction unit, a cross beam disposed on the top of the jack and a second cross beam disposed substantially parallel to the first cross beam and slidably mounted thereon, pivoting means to allow the cross beams to rotate about a vertical axis and a bridging beam rigidly located to a coupler and pivoted to the cross beams about a substantially horizontal axis.

The invention essentially consists of a lateral beam so placed on the shunting unit that, allowing for the center of gravity of the machine itself and the weight transferred from the railcar, the center of gravity of the machine with load transfer, that is when pulling or pushing maximum loads, with maximum weight transfer from the railcar, will fall approximately midway between the front and rear wheels or axles. This results in an even weight distribution between the driving wheels thus reducing-the overturning moment to an extent that can be exerted in either direction of travel. The traction unit cannot tip and when the traction forces are exceeded and the torque available from the power unit the wheels merely slip on the rails. The most important feature of this system is that the service weight of the shunting unit can be as light as constructive consideration-permit (theoretically the weight of the shunting unit could be zero) since the weight taken over from the railcar acts in such a manner as to give the machine complete stability when exerting a tractive force.

One embodiment of the invention is hereinafter described and illustrated with reference to the accom-- panying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traction unit attached to a railcar;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a coupler unit;

FIG. 3 is a part sectional side view of a coupler unit located on a traction unit;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a traction unit fitted with a beam and jack;

FIG. 5 shows a coupler attached to the beam as shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of a coupler unit;

FIG. 8 is a section taken through A-A in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a section taken through BB in FIG. 8; and

FIG. l0isaplan view ofFIG.7.

The'traction unit 1 as shown in the drawings is abl to step over and onto the rails at any desired place as described in my US. Pat. No. 3,399,633.

Located on the chassis 2 of the traction unit 1 is a hydraulic jack 3 and disposed on the top ofthe hydraulic jack 3 is a cross beam 4 provided with rollers 5.

Located over the cross-beam 4 is a second cross beam 6 which is slidable on the rollers 5. The rollers5 are spaced apart by a greater distance than the maximum distance that the cross beam 6 can slide, thus ensuring stability of the cross beam 6.

The cross beams 4 and 6 are pivotable about a generally vertical axis, the limit of angular movement being about l5. This pivoting is to allow for the relative movement of the traction unit and the railcar when negotiating curves.

A bridging beam 7 is mounted pivotably about a substantially horizontal axis on the second cross beam 6 by means of pins 8 disposed at each end 'of the second cross beam 6. Rigidly mounted on the bridging beam 7 is an automatic coupler 9.

Provided on the cross beam 4 for maintaining the cross beam 6 in a central position is a tube 10 containing a spring, which spring is retained in the tube by means of flanges l2 and slidable discs 13. Located on the cross beam 6 and provided in axial alignment with the tube 10 are two rods 14. These rods 14 just engage the discs 13 when the beam 6 is centrally located, however, when the beam 6 is displaced longitudinally the respective rod 14 compresses the spring 11 thus ensuring that when the longitudinal displacing force is removed the beam will be returned to its central position by the spring 1 l.

A spring means is provided between the cross beam 6 and the bridging beam 7 so as to maintain the automatic coupler in a substantially horizontal position when it is not coupled to a railcar.

A cable 16, one end of which is located on the automatic couplers, is provided so as to enable the driver of the traction unit to release the coupler at will.

In operation the traction unit is driven up to the railcar until the coupler of the traction unit engages the railcar coupler. The hydraulic jack is now actuated thus raising the cross beam 4, the cross beam 6, the bridging beam 7, and the interlocked couplers. The traction unit coupler and the bridging beam 7 become a rigid extension of the railcar coupler, and thus the weight of the railcar is taken on the pins 8 located on the cross beam 6.

The location of the pins 8 determines the stability of the traction unit, in that the lower the pins 8 the smaller the overturning moment and the greater the stability and the longitudinal location of the pins 8 determines the center of gravity of the traction unit when the weight of the railcar is being taken on the traction unit.

What is claimed is: 1. in a rail vehicle capable of partially supporting and of moving a second vehicle, said rail vehicle including a frame having first and second pairs of support wheels rollingly supported thereon adjacent opposite ends of same, said pairs of wheels being adapted to rollingly engage a pair of parallel rails, the improvement comprising:

rectilinear horizontal guide means extending substantially transversely of said frame, said guide means being disposed substantially between said first and second pairs of support wheels and being mounted to permit pivotal movement about a vertical axis extending through the longitudinal central axis of the rail vehicle; A

slide means slidably guided on .said guide means for movement therealong in the longitudinal direction of said guide means, said slide means carrying pivot means defining a substantially horizontal axis through the vertical axis about which said guide means is pivotally mounted;

coupling means pivotally mounted on the pivot means carried by said slide means for pivotal movement about said horizontal axis defined by said pivot means, said coupling means including an I automatic knuckle-type coupler adapted for en gagement with a similar knuckle-type coupler pro vided on the second vehicle, said automatic knuckle-type coupler projecting substantially perpendicularly relative to the longitudinal direction of said guide means; and 5 mounting means including a lifting jack disposed on said vertical axis and coacting between said guide means and said frame for enabling said pivotal movement of said guide means about said vertical axis and for causing vertical lifting of said guide means relative to said frame to thus transfer a portion of the weight of the second vehicle onto said rail vehicle between said first and second pairs of support wheels when the coupling means of saidrail vehicle is engaged with the coupler of said 5 second vehicle.

2. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, in which said coupling means extends beyond the wheel base of said first and second pairs of support wheels.

3. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the jack mounted on said frame includes a vertically extensible member, the longitudinally extending axis of said extensible member defining said vertical axis, and'said elongate guide means being secured to the upper end of said extensible member.

4. A rail vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said guide means includes a first elongate beam member provided with rollers, said slide means including a second elongate beam member supported for rolling movement'on said rollers, said pivot means comprising pins projecting longitudinally from the ends of said second elongate beam member, and said coupling means including an elongate bridging member extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said second beam member and links extending from the endsof said elongate bridging member'into pivotal engagement with said pins, said knuckle-type coupler being fixedly secured to said bridging member and extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom.

5. A rail vehicle according to claim 4, wherein said links comprise a pair of substantially parallel lever members, one end of said lever members being pivotally connected to said second beam member by said pins, and said elongated bridging member being fixedly connected to andextending between the other end of said lever members, whereby said elongated I bridging member is thus disposed substantially parallel to but spaced from the longitudinal axis of said second beam member.

6. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, further including resilient means effective on movement of said slide means from a mean position for resiliently urging said slide means back to said mean position. 

1. In a rail vehicle capable of partially supporting and of moving a second vehicle, said rail vehicle including a frame having first and second pairs of support wheels rollingly supported thereon adjacent opposite ends of same, said pairs of wheels being adapted to rollingly engage a pair of parallel rails, the improvement comprising: rectilinear horizontal guide means extending substantially transversely of said frame, said guide means being disposed substantially between said first and second pairs of support wheels and being mounted to permit pivotal movement about a vertical axis extending through the longitudinal central axis of the rail vehicle; slide means slidably guided on said guide means for movement therealong in the longitudinal direction of said guide means, said slide means carrying pivot means defining a substantially horizontal axis through the vertical axis about which said guide means is pivotally mounted; coupling means pivotally mounted on the pivot means carried by said slide means for pivotal movement about said horizontal axis defined by said pivot means, said coupling means including an automatic knuckle-type coupler adapted for engagement with a similar knuckle-type coupler provided on the second vehicle, said automatic knuckle-type coupler projecting substantially perpendicularly relative to the longitudinal direction of said guide means; and mounting means including a lifting jack disposed on said vertical axis and coacting between said guide means and said frame for enabling said pivotal movement of said guide means about said vertical axis and for causing vertical lifting of said guide means relative to said frame to thus transfer a portion of the weight of the second vehicle onto said rail vehicle between said first and second pairs of support wheels when the coupling means of said rail vehicle is engaged with the coupler of said second vehicle.
 2. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, in which said coupling means extends beyond the wheel base of said first and second pairs of support wheels.
 3. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the jack mounted on said frame includes a vertically extensible member, the longitudinally extending axis of said extensible member defining said vertical axis, and said elongate guide means being secured to the upper end of said extensible member.
 4. A rail vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said guide means includes a first elongate beam member provided with rollers, said slide means including a second elongate beam member supported for rolling movement on said rollers, said pivot means comprising pins projecting longitudinally from the ends of said second elongate beam member, and said coupling means including an elongate bridging member extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said second beam member and links extending from the ends of said elongate bridging member into pivotal engagement with said pins, said knuckle-type coupler being fixedly secured to said bridging member and extending substantially perpendicularly therefrom.
 5. A rail vehicle according to claim 4, wherein said links comprise a pair of substAntially parallel lever members, one end of said lever members being pivotally connected to said second beam member by said pins, and said elongated bridging member being fixedly connected to and extending between the other end of said lever members, whereby said elongated bridging member is thus disposed substantially parallel to but spaced from the longitudinal axis of said second beam member.
 6. A rail vehicle according to claim 1, further including resilient means effective on movement of said slide means from a mean position for resiliently urging said slide means back to said mean position. 